WASHINGTON — Instead of dressing in the cramped quarters like most coaches do after a game, Mike Quade gazed across the spacious wood desk in the visiting manager's office at Nationals Park, a little unsure what to do with the mementos of his first Major League victory.
There were two baseballs — one thrust into the new Cubs manager's hand by catcher Geovany Soto after reliever Thomas Diamond fanned Roger Bernadina for the final out of a 9-1 shellacking of the Nationals, the other pulled from home-plate umpire Tim Timmons' ballbag. Timmons also presented Quade with an official umpire's lineup card from his debut.
"What do you do with all the baseballs? Throw BP with them?" Quade asked the reporters huddled around him.
There were chuckles all around, but Quade wasn't joking. He wasn't sure. Quade marveled at how quickly Major League Baseball authenticators had put their official stamp on the cowhide covering and decided one ball should go to his parents. Quade will keep the other.
Day 1 of the Quade era dawned on Monday, with a baseball lifer, elevated to the managerial ranks when Lou Piniella stepped down after Sunday's game, talking about improving an underperforming club and making the most of the opportunity he's been given.
Step one for Quade, the Cubs' third-base coach for the past four seasons after compiling a 1,213-1,165 record in 17 seasons as a Minor League skipper: Keep the focus on results-oriented improvement in a lost season's final six weeks.
"These kids have to improve, we have to get better and our veterans have to carry us," Quade said in the visitors' dugout at Nationals Park while conducting his first pregame session with the media as the Cubs' interim manager.
"I don't care whether you're going to the World Series, in the pennant hunt or trying to play spoiler, the last six weeks are a son of a gun. You lean on your veterans and your kids have to get better. The kids have plenty of energy, but we have to see progress from them."
At least Quade didn't have to introduce himself to a clubhouse that already knew him well.
"You don't come in here and try to set the world on fire. You don't make a million changes," he said after the game. "These guys know me, but as a third-base coach. You change hats, and I wanted to let them know, you guys know who I am, but my voice is going to be a little louder. You want to know what my pet peeves are? Here they are. I would prefer not to have a mystery, and to let them know what differences they may see now."
The whirlwind nature of the past day or so — with Piniella, who had previously said he would step down at season's end, abruptly announcing that he was leaving the gig earlier than expected so he could care for his ill mother in Tampa, Fla. — has been both a blessing and a curse to the 53-year-old Quade.
On the positive side, it's given the Evanston, Ill., native an opportunity to manage his hometown team, despite the fact that his new role might have a monetary downside. Quade quipped that he expects his bill for game tickets left at Wrigley Field to rise exponentially with the duties of his new role.
The flip side of the pleasant, if unexpected, development: The chance of a lifetime is before him, and Quade is a little out of his comfort zone, even if he feels infinitely comfortable in the new job's surroundings.
"I think all the craziness around me has probably made it easier. I've always been focused on the process of getting ready for a game or a series. When you haven't done it in a while, you better get into it and jump into it quick," Quade said. "I've been here for four of five hours preparing for something that I hope, in a few days, will be back to more of a routine for me where two hours of preparation will get the job done."
To facilitate a smoother transition, Quade tried to keep the gameday routine, well, routine. He held early hitting and defense before the opening game of a three-game series against the Nationals, just as the Cubs would normally do the first day of a road series.
Of course, there were new additions to his daily grind — welcoming arriving first-base coach Bob Dernier, taping a pregame radio show, making a lineup for a Major League team and a 10-minute meeting with his team before they stretched.
"I keep busy and not stewing and thinking about things for a long time, maybe [the quick turnaround after the announcement] did make a difference," Quade acknowledged when asked if perhaps not having time to think about the new assignment was a positive development.
But Quade's opportunity is crystal clear: If he has designs on ever making an impact as a Major League manager, the next six weeks are ripe for showcasing how he would handle a club.
He winced when the word "audition" was mentioned, but quickly warmed to the concept.
"I guess it probably, absolutely is. I got to do what I do. It's a generic statement, but it really is [true]. I know what I've done in the past, and I just have to approach it and do it my way, and whatever happens, happens," Quade said. "But I'd say in some way, shape or form, it's absolutely an audition."
The Cubs clubhouse didn't show any ill effects from a tumultuous day — and then some — where leadership changed.
"Bottom line: go out there and play. The game doesn't stop," said outfielder Marlon Byrd. "Lou's put all this time into the game and it knows what he's done and appreciates what he's done, and he's definitely left his mark. He'll always be remembered, but at the same time, everybody knows the game must go on. We'll finish up strong and play hard for Quade and do this organization proud."
Outfielder Tyler Colvin said the fact that the Cubs are already familiar with Quade will facilitate a smooth transition.
"We know Quade very well, and I think he's going to do a good job with us," Colvin said. "We're comfortable with him."
It showed in Monday's victory. Quade talked about how much he needed a good night's sleep, something that escaped him after learning he would take over from Piniella, and he was asked if he had a chance to savor the experience of his first Major League managerial triumph.
"I probably will later. It depends on your definition of 'savor,'" Quade smiled.
He's still relearning how to pull the strings as a skipper, something he last did at Triple-A Iowa in 2006. To Quade, that's the fun part, the mechanical side of managing.
"[I enjoy] the challenge of managing a game," he said. "I'm a handicapper, I love thoroughbreds, I love puzzles. So working through it [is fun]. When these guys played through it as well as they did and made it easy for me to relax, that made it better."